Meridan walked out to the training field, twirling her sword expertly. Is anyone going to come practice with me, or are they all eating? Meridan asked herself. She was bored, and thought a bit of swordplay was the exact thing she needed.

Kiara was wandering, as she was often apt to do after dinner. She spotted another trainee twirling her sword. She looks like a good swordsman, er, swordswoman she thought to herself. Craning her neck, she finally identified the face. "Ho! Meridan of Redrose, are you not? May I have the honor of sparring with you?" she asked in a Player's tone of voice.

Perched on the fence around the practice yard, Gwenna chewed a piece of grass and relaxed as two forms movies into the field. This should be interesting, she thought to herself as she stretched and readjusted her shirt to lean forward slightly.

Thomas had wandered outside, looking for Meridan, hoping to maybe apologize to her, or something... He wasn't exactly sure yet... Noticing her already having found a partner, he sighed a little unhappily, but nevertheless took himself a seat on the fence, a few feet away from another Rider.

"Sure, I've been waiting for someone to spar with!" Meridan beckoned the other trainee over to her. "Gods, I'm glad some of the other trainees have come. I felt very alone, and I only got here two days early." She grinned. "Anyway, let's begin."

Kiara laughed. "Very well. Let's just not kill each other! I'd like to become a Rider first." She put herself in the "ready" position, and waited for the fight to begin.

"Are you a Rider?" Thomas asked Gwenna.

[Ack! It's all so dead!]

OOC: i've noticed...do you and Gwenna want to start sparring or something? It'd liven up this thread...

IC: "I do too!" Meridan laughed along with Kiara. She stood sideways, planting her feet apart, and drew her sword. A dandelion floated past her nose, and on a reflex, she grabbed it. "Gods it's windy today." She mused. "Sorry about that." Meridan threw the flower aside and assumed her position. "Are you ready?"

OOC: Sorry guys! School's making me crazy. @-@

IC:

Gwenna glanced out of the corner of her eye at Thomas and nodded lightly. "Yep, I am. You must be one of the new trainees, am I right?" She crossed her arms over her chest and looked out over the field, considering sparring to pass the time.

"Unfortunately." Thomas then proceeded to lay out his troubles on her.

"And the Commander hates me already," he finished. "Can you believe that?"

The corner of Gwenna's mouth curved in a small smile.

"Well, don't take it personally. The Commander hates everyone." Her smile slid back to the calm exterior of before as she continued to stare straight ahead.

Thomas blinked. "She can't hate everyone, else she wouldn't be in the job. Someone has to like her, and I'm thinking she'd return the favor."

"She doesn't hate me." Meridan swung her sword in a wide arc. "At least, she hasn't yelled at me yet, so I don't think she hates me."

Gwenna pulled the piece of grass from the corner of her mouth and tossed it aside with a little bit of bigger smile.

"The harder she is on you, the more potential she thinks you have. Again, I wouldn't take it personally." She finally turned her head and met Thomas' eyes squarely,giving a slight nod to reaffirm her statement.

Thomas shrugged expressively. "I don't know," he said, "it seemed pretty personal to me. How did you survive?"

Gwenna shrugged and stretched her arms over her head, popping her back.

"I'm not all too sure, to be honest. I was pretty quiet and aloof when I got here, and tried to keep an easy-going state of mind. Not a lot gets to me I guess. I assumed her attitude was a method of training." She hunched over and hopped off the fence, giving her body all her short body a full stretch.

Meridan rolled her eyes at the two and turned back to Kiara. "Sorry about that. Allright, let's really begin this time." She laughed, and assumed the beginning position once more.

Thomas wasn't sure how to respond to that, so he said nothing, and concentrated instead on what would hopefully be a fencing match, bouncing a bit on the the fence rail.

[This is so annoying. No one posts.]

OOC: hey! I post! :angry: jk, I'm just waiting for Kiara!

Gwenna turned to the two about to spar and crossed her arms over her chest, leaning her back against the fence. Plucking a new piece of grass, she put it in between her teeth and it bounced at the corner of her mouth as she chewed. Thinking, she lightly shook her head.

OOC: waiting...

OOC: AAAH! Sorry.

IC: Kiara took her position again. Attempting to take her opponent by surprise, she thrust her sword forward, trying to get to the neck.

Meridan whirled around and parried the sword thrust, sending Kiara's blade away from her neck. "Nice try." She grinned , assuming her original position.

"Awww," Kiara said jokingly as she did a series of complicated moves. She decided to put herself on the defense, waiting for her Meridan's next move.

Meridan feinted to the left, then struck to the right. She felt the muscles in her sword arm strain, she would have to build up more muscle in it, it had been a while since she had learned swordplay, as the groom back at Redrose who had taught her, had long since moved away, taking his swords with him, and Meridan's mother had put all swords out of reach, since she wanted her daughter to learn Shang before swordplay.

Kiara parried the blow, leaning far to her left. "You're doing well," she complimented Meridan. She was not one for throwing insults at her opponent. It was just something she was not inclined to do. Her sword showered some sparks, and she leaned forward, aiming the flat of her blade toward Meridan's shoulder.

OOC: of her braid, ay? lol

IC: Meridan blocked and spun quickly, not giving her opponent time to stab her in the back. Her Shang instructor had drilled into her head not to bother with all the fancy spinning moves, for they could get you kililed if you weren't careful. All Shang arts were simple and precise. Meridan had enjoyed the showy swordplay, though she agreed that the Shang way was more utilitarian.

As Kiara felt her sword meet with Meridan's, she lost her balance and fell to the side, falling hard on her left side. Cursing with all her breath, she tried to get up but the fall had knocked her breath out. She would just have to fight from the ground.

"Are-are you all right?" Meridan asked. Perhaps not the brightest idea in the middle of sparring. This fact quickly dawned on her and she reeled back, swinging her sword back up into the defensive position. Quickly she realized that Kiara was not scrambling to her feet, and attempted to take advantage of the situation. She thrust her sword down, towards Kiara's abdomen. It wouldn't do much damage, as she had fitted a a small ball onto the end of it, preventing the sword from slicing through anything.